Keynote Speakers

:: Keynote Speakers

Professor Sara de Freitas, Full Professor at University of Suffolk, and the Director of the Digital Futures Institute

Professor Sara de Freitas, the Director of the Digital Futures Institute, has been a pioneering researcher in the field of serious games and deep learning in digital education. With a background in data science at the doctoral level, Dr. Fritas has always bridged interdisciplinary fields. Initially drawn to understanding natural human-computer interfaces and game-based reward and feedback systems, she conducted her work at the London Knowledge Lab (University of London, now UCL) and the Serious Games Institute (Coventry University).

Highlights:

The reason that serious games have been so powerful is due to the nature of how play and games work with respect to behavioral change and motivation.

This lecture will outline how games and play are transformative for social learning.

Sylvester Arnab, Full Professor of Game Science (Applied Games) at Coventry University.

Dr. Sylvester Arnab is a Full Professor in Game Science (Applied Games) at the Centre for Postdigital Cultures at the Institute for Creative Cultures, leading the Ludic Design group. His research focuses on the investigation into how engaging, empathic, and empowering experiences are designed and applied based on strategies and elements commonly used by playful and game-based approaches. Sylvester has over 100 academic publications including a book - ‘Game Science in Hybrid Learning Spaces’ - which provides insights into the research and practice of purposeful game design with a focus on hybrid education.

Highlights:

With serious outcomes being achieved through game-based experiences, it is crucial to adopt a more empathic approach that fosters co-creation and participation among practitioners in the design process.
Drawing on the research, this presentation showcases holistic game design methodologies and tools that break down barriers to entry in the co-creation of playful and gameful experiences, ultimately leading to purposeful outcomes.
This talk will also draw insights from Sylvester’s book on ‘Game Science in Hybrid Learning Spaces’.

Katharina Tillmanns, Doctoral researcher, former co-president of the Games for Change Europe

Katharina Tillmanns is a doctoral researcher, designer and lecturer for playful immersive media at the Cologne Game Lab, an Institute for Game Development and Research at TH Koeln (University of Applied Sciences).

Highlights:

Traditional learning arrangements as well as analogue or digital serious games do not make use of the body’s extraordinary capacity to process multisensory input to enrich and integrate learning outcomes.
While Extended Reality (XR) allows to fully incorporate the users´ body into the experience, XR serious games applications, yet predominantly emphasize visual engagement.
By employing a dedicated body-centric design approach, XR-based serious games can benefit from a wealth of possibilities to transform knowledge transfer into a holistic cognitive-physical-emotional experience.
This presentation will introduce attendees to strategies for meaningful physical design and inspire them to craft XR experiences.

Amin Babadi

Game AI Developer/Postdoc Researcher

Amin is a game AI programmer at Bugbear Entertainment Ltd, working on racing game AI. He has more than ten years of experience as a game developer and more than five years of experience as an applied AI & machine learning researcher.

Highlights:

AI solutions have already changed the way we do things in many areas. These advances are expected to also revolutionize serious games and level up their real-life applications in the near future.
This talk will give an overview of AI-based simulators that could be leveraged for building next generation of serious games with applications such as autonomous driving, professional training, and education.

Address

Computer Faculty, Amirkabir University of Technology, Hafez St, Valiasr Sq, Tehran, Iran